Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina’s ‘What Ifs’ on ‘CMA Fest’ Special Still Sexy

Longtime friends Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina joined forces during the CMA Fest television special on ABC Wednesday night (Aug. 8) for a lively performance of their chart-topping hit, "What Ifs."

Taped during the annual CMA Music Festival in Nashville in June, the duet shows their ability to get a crowd of over 60,000 country fans on their feet and singing along. Alaina came out like a star — stunning in leather pants and gold sequined top, shining above Brown in his more casual black tee. The longtime friends traded lines and were comfortable together onstage, often trading smiles. While their performance was less sexy than the ACMs (there was no almost-kiss moment!), it was still sexy — and no less fun.

That Performance Was Almost Too Hot for TV!

ACM Awards producers wanted Alaina and Brown to face each other, nose to nose, at the end of their performance, as if they were about to kiss. It was a suggestion Alaina was hesitant about, but obliged in the end.

"I mean, Kane and I don’t really put our noses together when we look at each other," she joked with Taste of Country earlier this year. "So during rehearsals, we are standing 2 to 3 feet apart — like a normal distance for people who are performing together — and they said, 'Can you guys get a little closer together? We want people to think you guys are going to kiss.’ We asked them, ‘Why do you want people to think that?'"

She adds, "They wanted us to live out the lyrics of the song and after thinking about it, I think it all kind of made sense. Part of our job as entertainers is to entertain and perform and take on the roles of two people who were supposed to be asking, ‘what if?'"